[ad_1]
The Senate sent a strong signal on Tuesday that there are not enough votes to condemn President Trump
Donald TrumpSchumer: Impeachment trial will be swift, doesn’t need many witnesses Nurse bugged by Biden as acting surgeon general: Schumer report calls on Biden to declare climate emergency MORE in an impeachment trial when only five GOP senators rejected an effort by the senator. Rand Paul
Randal (Rand) Howard Paul Senate to vote on Tuesday on choosing Biden Secretary of State Leahy, not Roberts, to preside over impeachment trial on Sunday Shows preview: All eyes on the Biden administration to fight coronavirus MORE (R-Ky.) To declare the impending trial unconstitutional.
The Senate voted 55-45 to set aside Paul’s motion, with all but five GOP Senators on Paul’s side. GOP Meaning. Mitt Romney
Willard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyHouse Officially Sends Impeachment To Senate, Says Trump For Riot On Capitol Hill Bernie Sanders Has Been Most Followed Member Of Congress On Social Media For Six Years The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden: Vaccine Focus, the virus, travel PLUS (Utah), Ben sasse
Ben Sasse Juan Williams: Let America Be America Kremlin: US Statements On Pro-Navalny Protests Show ‘Direct Support For Breaching The Law’ Senators Argue Over The Validity Of Trump’s Impeachment Trial MORE (Bec.), Susan collins
Susan Margaret Collins Collins: Minimum Wage Increase Should Be Separate From COVID-19 Relief Program The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden: Focus on vaccine, virus, travel Moderates pledge to ‘be a force’ under Biden PLUS (Maine), Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski Moderates vows to be ‘a force’ under Biden Senators split over validity of Trump impeachment trial Trump impeachment trial set to start week of February 8 MORE (Alaska) and Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph Toomey Government used Patriot Act to collect logs of website visitors in 2019 Appeals court says NSA bulk phone data collection illegal Dunford steps down as committee chair coronavirus surveillance READ MORE (Pa.) Voted with the Democrats to table Paul’s point of order.
The vote is the clearest sign yet that Trump is heading for a second acquittal and offers a quick glimpse of Republicans lining up behind the argument that his second impeachment trial is unconstitutional.
Trump will be the first president to stand trial after leaving office, but the Senate previously held an impeachment trial for a Cabinet official after he left.
Paul, speaking ahead of the vote, warned that he wanted to force his colleagues to officially declare themselves.
“If we’re going to put all politicians in jail, are we going to impeach all politicians who used the words ‘fight’ figuratively in a speech? Shame,” he said, accusing Democrats of being “disturbed by their hatred” of Trump.
“I want this body to be recorded. Every last person here,” added Paul.
Several GOP senators said ahead of the vote that they had not made a decision on how they would vote, had not spoken to Paul or, until they saw Tuesday’s schedule in the Senate , did not know he would force the vote.
“I’ll admit to you that I didn’t think we would have a vote on this just yet,” Murkowski said.
His. Roy Blunt
Roy Dean BluntTrump, Allies lobby Senate GOP ahead of impeachment This week: Senate stuck in limbo Skepticism reigns as Biden and McConnell enter new era MORE (R-Mo.) Added, “Until I read my chef’s review this morning, I didn’t know there was a chance this was going to happen.
Although some GOP senators have said they are waiting to hear presentations during the trial, a growing number appear to be clinging to the argument that the trial, which will begin next month, is unconstitutional.
Law professor Jonathan Turley attended a GOP closed-door lunch where Senators discussed strategy.
His. Joni Ernst
Joni Kay Ernst The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden takes office, calls for end to ‘uncivil war’ Senate confirms Biden’s chief intelligence officer, giving him first Democratic Cabinet government torn apart by trial schedule in dismissal PLUS (R-Iowa) said in a statement Monday night that while Trump “has shown poor leadership and holds some responsibility” in the Jan.6 attack on Capitol Hill, his “concern right now is that the president is no longer in office. “
“Congress would open up to a dangerous standard of using impeachment as a tool of political revenge against a private citizen, and the only remedy at this point is to deprive convicts of their ability to run for future office -” a decision which would undoubtedly deprive millions of voters of their ability to choose a candidate in the next elections, ”she added.
Romney and Murkowski said Tuesday ahead of the vote that they believed the trial was constitutional.
“My review of it has led me to conclude that it is constitutional in recognizing that impeachment is not just about removing a president, it is also a matter of political consequences,” Murkowski said.
Romney added that “the preponderance of opinion as to the constitutionality of a former president impeachment trial is that this is a constitutional process.”
Democrats have criticized GOP pressure to rule Trump’s trial unconstitutional, arguing Republicans are trying to avoid having to decide whether Trump’s rhetoric meets the bar of condemnation.
“Some of my Republican colleagues have clung to a marginal legal theory that the Senate does not have the constitutional power to hold a trial because Donald Trump is no longer in office,” said Senate Majority Leader . Charles Schumer
Chuck Schumer MORE (DN.Y.).
“This argument has been squarely debunked by constitutional scholars from the left, right and center. It challenges precedent, historical practice and common sense,” he added.
[ad_2]
Source link